Prosecutors said Pardo, 56, and cohort Rolando Garcia committed nine murders during the 1980s, ripping off drug dealers and people who could implicate them in the crimes.

“I’m not a criminal. I’m a soldier. As a soldier, I ask to be given the death penalty,” he told the court when he was sentenced to death in 1988. “I accomplished my mission, and I hope you will give me the glory to at least end my days in a proper fashion.”

At trial, lawyers for Pardo — a former highway patrolman, Boy Scout leader and decorated Navy veteran — argued he was insane at the time of the crimes and thought he was ridding the streets of criminals.